Suicide bombers in guise of beggars in Sri Lanka?

Tamil Tiger guerrillas, facing a military onslaught in Sri Lanka's north, have let loose suicide bombers in the guise of beggars and pregnant women in Colombo, a media report said on Friday.

The warning has come from the police intelligence, the state-run Daily News reported.

It said the police had arrested a leading intelligence operative of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at Kiribathgoda, a commercial town about 15 km north of Colombo. He was dressed like a beggar.

"LTTE suicide bombers in the guise of pregnant women, beggars, women carrying children, old men and women have been deployed to carry explosions in Colombo city," the Daily News said.

According to the report, the police have also arrested "several women with children carrying explosives" in the north-central Anuradhapura and Medawachchiya towns.

Three more suspected LTTE cadres were arrested in Ratnapura district on Wednesday, it said. The police said they were spying on road blocks and security arrangements in military camps in and around Colombo.

Last month, a cabinet minister narrowly escaped unhurt in an assassination attempt by a suspected female Tamil Tiger suicide bomber near Colombo. One civilian was killed and six others were wounded in this incident.